Bob Blaisdell

The story behind the origins of Anna Karenina and the turbulent life and times of Leo Tolstoy. Anna Karenina is one of the most nuanced characters in world literature and we return to her, and the novel she propels, again and again. Remarkably, there has not yet been an examination of Leo Tolstoy specifically through the lens of this novel. Critic and professor Bob Blaisdell unravels Tolstoy's family, literary, and day-to-day life during the period...

The basis of our nation's law and government, the Constitution is America's most important political and social document. This convenient and inexpensive reference contains not only the Constitution's main text and amendments but also a wealth of background information. Supplements include selected "Federalist Papers," consisting of memoranda by James Madison, the "Father of the Constitution," as well as speeches by John Jay and Patrick Henry and...

This collection, spanning four centuries of English wit, wisdom, and common sense, contains the thoughts of a number of renowned masters of the essay. From Francis Bacon--the English author who reputedly imported the genre from France, to literary critic, mystery writer, and social commentator G. K. Chesterton, more than twenty writers express their views on such subjects as walking, writing, traveling, sleeping, pets, friends, and childhood. Included...

The best-known works of more than 60 British and American poets, written over a period of nearly 400 years, comprise this superb collection of verse. Focusing on poems of faith - inspiring, comforting, and profound works with religious themes and ideals - the volume includes "Holy Sonnets" by John Donne, Ben Jonson's "To the Holy Trinity," "Paradise" by George Herbert, "On His Blindness" by John Milton, as well as poems by Andrew Marvell, Thomas Traherne,...

This new anthology of short fiction by Native Americans features a wide range of contemporary writers. After a brief introductory section that includes early-20th-century stories by Pauline Johnson, Charles A. Eastman, John M. Oskison, and others, the collection focuses on authors who came to prominence in the decades following World War II.

Exciting collection invites youngsters to relive the adventures, calamities, and conquests of fascinating characters created by Homer, Hesiod, Sophocles and other ancient storytellers. Includes imaginative tales of Pandora's box, King Midas and his golden touch, the dreaded Cyclops, Hades and Persephone, Narcissus and Echo, and many more.

"We must have peace, not only in Atlanta, but in all America," declared General Sherman to the civic leaders who protested against the evacuation and burning of their city. "We don't want your Negroes, or your horses, or your lands, or anything you have, but we do want and will have a just obedience to the laws of the United States. That we will have, and if it involves the destruction of your improvements, we cannot help it." Sherman's impassioned...

Over 180 well-chosen Imagist gems appear in this tribute to the 20th century poetic movement that stressed precise language and individual rhythmic style. This definitive collection includes short verse published between 1913 and 1922 by Ezra Pound, D. H. Lawrence, H. D. (Hilda Doolittle), James Joyce, Wallace Stevens, William Carlos Williams, and many others.

This compact volume offers a broad selection of the most important documents in American history: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Emancipation Proclamation as well as presidential speeches, Supreme Court decisions, Acts and Declarations of Congress, essays, letters, and much more. The compilation of more than 150 documents, dating from 1606 to 1865, starts with the First Charter of Virginia, issued by King James I, and concludes...

This anthology ranges from Henry David Thoreau's great nineteenth-century polemics "Civil Disobedience" and "Slavery in Massachusetts" to more recent writings by Aung San Suu Kyi as well as Nadezhda Tolokonnikova of the subversive Russian rock group Pussy Riot. Additional selections include Leo Tolstoy's denouncement of capital punishment, "I Cannot Be Silent"; Bertrand Russell's "Civil Disobedience and the Threat of Nuclear Warfare"; and "Love,...